Raiffeisen Bank International AG Makes New Investment in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 564,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,436,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG owned 0.21% of Essential Utilities as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 24,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 6,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Essential Utilities by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 70,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,546,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 19,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network grew its position in Essential Utilities by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTRG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Essential Utilities from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 1.3%

WTRG opened at $36.93 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $39.53 and its 200-day moving average is $38.00. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.18 and a 52-week high of $41.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.85.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $783.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $713.80 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 27.84% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. Analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.3255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.30%.

Essential Utilities Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates regulated utilities that provide water, wastewater, or natural gas services in the United States. The company operates through Regulated Water and Regulated Natural Gas segments. It offers water services through operating and maintenance contract with municipal authorities and other parties.